Craig Angelos’ life story cannot be found in his University of Hawaii office.

No framed diplomas.

No aerial photos of the football stadium he helped build a decade ago as Florida Atlantic University’s athletic director.

No trophies.

No … anything.

“This is the way it’ll stay,” said Angelos, who completed his first week as UH’s athletic director. “I don’t need to put my diplomas or pictures or that stuff on the wall. I don’t plan on spending too much time in there, anyway. My goal is to try to be out in the community as much as possible, like I have been this week.”

Since succeeding David Matlin, who retired after eight years as UH’s athletic director, Angelos’ calendar has been set to whirlwind. Angelos met with high school athletic directors on Kauai, huddled with Mountain West Conference ADs for two days in the Stan Sheriff Center, had meetings with staff and coaches, was introduced to business and community leaders, sat with local media — one-on-one interviews, not group conferences — and spoke with Special Olympic athletes and coaches.

“I’m trying to reach out, put a name to a face,” Angelos said.

Angelos has approached challenges with optimism. He has kept his staff intact, for now, with associate athletic director Lois Manin remaining as second-in-command. “Lois has always been the No. 2 person,” Angelos said. “Any time you go into a new organization, you want to see how it works. I think there are a lot of good people here. There may be a time to make adjustments down the road, but I want to look at how things are currently set up and how things are working.”

He has been told of the strained relationship between certain lawmakers and UH leaders. “It’s kind of a blank slate for me, and probably for them, so we can grow together, and not be biased about things that have gone on in the past, if there are those,” he said.

At Florida Atlantic, there was unity among the legislators, school officials, and the private sector in working with the athletic department. “It’s all about alignment,” said Angelos, referencing Hawaii’s dynamic. “If everybody is aligned and going in the same direction, you can accomplish a lot. It’s never going to be aligned perfectly. But it seems like it’s aligned very well right now.”

Angelos said the Mountain West, of which UH is a football-only member, is on a swivel as the landscape shifts. There is talk of secessions from the Mountain West, with San Diego State as a target for poaching. The Mountain West’s future is probably linked to what happens with the Pac-12, one of the so-called Power Five conferences that is set to lose USC and UCLA. Angelos said the Mountain West might “lose a few (members to other leagues) but on the other hand, they could gain some, too.”

Even with realignments, Angelos believes the Mountain West is “in a position to kind of assert itself into being that sixth (power) league or the top of the group of five. I really believe this is (the Mountain West’s) moment.”

Angelos conceded there needs to be upgrades to the football experience at the Ching Complex, which has served as the site for UH home football games since Aloha Stadium was self-condemned in December 2020. The video scoreboard will be relocated from Aloha Stadium to Ching this summer. But Angelos acknowledged the discomfort of Ching’s bleacher seating. “They’re not form fitting, they don’t have seat backs,” Angelos said.

For now, a consideration is expanding rentals of seat cushions. Angelos also would like to explore ways to offer tailgating. None was available in the lower campus or parking structure the past two years. A possibility is setting up satellite parking sites, where fans can tailgate, and running shuttles between the lots and UH’s lower campus.

Angelos hopes to expand UH’s popularity in the Pacific Rim, especially in Japan. “That’s a big market for us,” Angelos said. Two Japan-reared student-athletes — 6-8 basketball player Akira Jacobs and two-way baseball sensation Itsuki Takemoto — will be playing for UH this coming academic year.

“We’d like to expand our reach,” Angelos said. “You see that with pro sports. You see that with other conferences. But, heck, nobody can do it better than we can, most likely because we’re 2,500 miles away from the continent and a lot closer to Japan and the Pacific Rim than anybody else. My hope is we can become that Pacific Rim’s team. Market ourselves as that, go over and play over there on a regular basis, sell our merchandise over there. Heck, Hawaii has a huge brand, a huge name all over the world.”

Angelos will approach each project with his usual C-average style. “I liken it to a piano,” he said. “You’re on middle C most of the time, maybe one octave higher or one octave lower. It’s hard to live your life when you’re going up three or four octaves one way and three or four octaves down the other way. I’ve tried to be more middle C. It’s been that way my whole life.”

His even-keeled personality is inspired by his brother, an ER doctor. “He can’t afford to get too high or too low,” Angelos said. “That’s been my makeup, too.”

His diligence in reaching goals stems from his background as an Eagle Scout. His drive to overcome rejection came from serving a two-year church mission in Virginia.

“You pay your own way,” Angelos said. “You leave your friends, your schooling, your sports, your girlfriend, and you don’t get paid to do it. You’re out there serving other people on your own dime, and you’re getting rejected. But you’re doing a lot of community service along the way, too. It’s my upbringing. That kind of mentality has been drilled into me to serve other people, especially young people. You see these young (student-athletes) who are 18 to 23 years old, who are just trying to find their way and make that crossover into adulthood that might need your help. I’m a big believer in paying it forward.”

Throughout his administrative career, he has been quick to praise others while taking responsibility for setbacks and difficult situations. “Everybody has their issues in life,” Angelos said, “and they’re not really interested in your issues, even though you want to shout from the rooftop: ‘Can you believe what happened to me?’ People are like, I’ve got my own issues to worry about. … I’ve taken this approach: it’s not other people’s problems. It’s my problems. I’ve got to work it out myself. And other people don’t need to hear about my problems. I’ve got to pick it up and move forward.”

It is that forward thinking that has spurred Angelos. After nearly nine years at FAU, Angelos was dismissed in April 2012. Angelos described the parting as “the worst thing that happened to me in my college athletics career. That was really devastating because I thought I was doing a really good job.”

Angelos, who is married with six children, did what he always has done. “It’s the old adage, if you get knocked down, you get back up,” Angelos said.

He went on to be the No. 2 sports administrator at four schools, most recently Long Island University. “The big mantra is to always stay in the game,” he said, “and weather the storm, and eventually you’ll be where you want to be.”

During that span, he applied for the vacant UH athletic director’s job. “I didn’t get in the mix,” Angelos said. “You know how these jobs are. The sun and the moon and the stars have to align. These are such good jobs, but such hard jobs to get.”

After Matlin announced his plan to retire, Angelos, who saved the research from his earlier UH application, applied again. This time, he received an invitation to meet with the selection committee. Angelos, true to form, studied the background of every committee member in preparation for the interview, as well as challenges UH faced.

That diligence is part of his daily planning, After being hired, Angelos created a spreadsheet with notes and background on political and business leaders, staff, coaches, and the media. Each received his personal cell phone number. Angelos adheres to the practice of making connections, preparing goals, and if a plan does not materialize, go on to the next plan.

“You’ve got to process the information,” Angelos said. “Then you’ve got to make decisions, and you’ve got to keep moving forward. Some people don’t know the issues as well. You’ve got to study up on the issues. You’ve got to listen. You’ve got to learn. You have to find out what’s out there, and then process it. I think that’s where my experience helps. I’ll be able to process it quicker because I know what the industry standards look like, and then try to adapt the local ways to the industry standards, and make decisions and move forward.”

He added: “Sometimes I’ve been successful at it, and sometimes I haven’t. My engine revs at that level. I’m going to head on to the next thing if that one doesn’t work. If Plan A doesn’t work, then I’m going on to Plan B, then Plan C, Plan D, Plan E, Plan F, all the way down. … It’s been my mentality, ever since I was young, to focus on things, and if that doesn’t work, go to the next thing and then the next thing. But always be anxiously engaged in moving forward.”